PV's Mitchell overcomes adversity to win state medal

Saturday

Jun 17, 2017 at 10:31 PMJun 17, 2017 at 10:31 PM

Zach Sturniolo Record Sports Writer @zachstur

At first glance this season, Mike Mitchell didn't look like himself.

The Pleasant Valley senior was jumping two feet shorter than his personal best in the long jump, raising question marks and doubt even within himself about whether he could reach states for a third consecutive year.

Leave it to Mitchell to put the doubts to rest.

Mitchell, the Pocono Record's male track athlete of the year, came alive exactly when he needed to. Mitchell seemingly came from nowhere to claim District 11 Class 3A gold in both long jump (23-feet-2½) and triple jump (47-2) en route to the PIAA Track and Field Championships, where he finished fifth to earn his first state medal with a triple jump of 45-2.

"I knew he always had that ability to get there, but it was just a matter of him being able to put it together," Bears coach Michelle Piontkowski said.

Those early-season doubts stemmed from an ankle injury suffered during the 2016 football season, which Mitchell re-aggravated during a track practice early in the spring.

"In the beginning of the year, I thought I didn’t have it anymore," Mitchell said.

"For a while there, we had three meets in five days," Piontkowski said. "So he was definitely tired and we couldn’t really give him that much of a rest because we wanted to be able to have him help the team win the league title."

Mitchell believes a tri-meet with Dieruff and East Stroudsburg North on April 7 was a turning point this year. That day, he finished fifth in the 100 (11.8 seconds) and fourth in the long jump (19-4) while sophomore Nasai Moon won both events. Mitchell didn't compete in the triple that day.

"That’s when everybody in school was talking about, ‘Micheal, you lost to a sophomore,’" Mitchell said. "And then I jumped 18 feet in the long and 39 in the triple, and I was just like, I don’t know what’s happening."

It took until the end of the season for Mitchell to find his groove again. The doubts that lingered in his mind were starting to dissipate, thanks to some motivational words from his coach.

"I would text him every now and then and say, ‘Mike, keep your chin up. I don’t need you to be on top of your game right now,'" Piontkowski said. "I said, 'I need you to get points for us, obviously, but I want to see you being as healthy as you can be and be right up there where you left off and improve from last year at the end of the season.’

"And that’s what he did."

By the beginning of May, Mitchell was finding himself back in the 21-feet range in long jump and was jumping back to form again in triple.

"Towards the end of the season, I started getting my step back," he said. "And then like that’s when everything started going into the flow. That was a good moment for me. I started to get my springs back in my legs."

After a third-place triple jump and second-place long jump effort at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championships, Mitchell came into districts with a purpose. More importantly, he executed when it mattered most.

"I think it was all in my head at first, and then it started to come," Mitchell said." My legs started to come back because I feel like I was jumping higher towards the beginning of the season; I feel like my mind was just messed up. Everything started to click around the midway, end of the season."

Piontkowski attributed Mitchell's late-season success to his maturity and mental growth over the last three years.

"The conditions were just perfect for him," Piontkowski said. "He needs his body warmed up, and I think he realized it. That’s what I mean by maturity. He realized what he needs to do and how he needs to prepare to be able to compete at his highest level. And I was so proud of him and so happy for him to be able to come out as a district winner in both the long and triple jump."

Mitchell, who will attend junior college Iowa Western to play football this fall, is proud of what he accomplished at Pleasant Valley. But like the true competitor he is, Mitchell still isn't satisfied with how his track career ended despite earning the state medal that alluded him for so long.

"I was disappointed to leave fifth (in triple) and then for long to not even make finals or place," Mitchell said. "But to get a medal and to be on the Wall (of Fame) in our school now feels pretty good.

"So it feels like I left a good legacy mark leaving out of high school for track and field."

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